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What’s Behind Saigon Artbook #3?

This week The Others Creative House hosted their third Saigon Artbook release party. A free event where they gave away 500 lovely art books. We attended the event and interviewed one of their producers to find out more about this interesting initiative.

The gallery was set up in a soon to be refurbished venue named Lê Công Kiều Station, located at 3 Lê Công Kiều Street in District 1. They say that a cafe will be built there in the future but for now the bare bones space is playing the role of gallery and party venue.

Interview with Dang Thanh Long, Producer at Saigon Artbook

What is Saigon Artbook?

It’s something we started more than a year ago. We started by creating a free artbook. We release the books at a party every three months and we give the books out for free. Artists can be from anywhere in the world as long as they are living and working in Saigon.

The concept is to create a more fun and cozy gallery experience by holding the party at night. You can come with your friends and meet other people who like art. You don’t have to worry about the price as tickets are free and if you can’t afford to buy the art being exhibited it’s ok because you can take it home with you in the book.

Is there is a limited supply of tickets for the opening night parties?

Yes, it’s limited. Until now we print 600 copies of the book and we give out 500 at the party and the other 100 we give out at community activities. We would love to have more people come; if we get more sponsors we can print more books and more people can come.

If someone misses the opening night party, and they still want to see the artwork, what can they do?

You can download the art book right now from our website and also the exhibition is open for one month after the party. Also if there are any artbooks left over from the parties you can pick one up at the exhibition as long as supplies last.

Why did you start doing this project?

We feel like Saigon needs something more. So far the people in Vietnam don’t appreciate art much, to them it seems like something very high and far away. The look out at the world and say there is a lot of art out there but they need to look inside. This artwork is amazing and it is happening here in Saigon right now. We feel the need of young generation to touch the art and connect with the art. We want to break the wall between the artist and the audience. So now there’s no more wall; if you love art, just sign up, join the party, get a book, meet the artist, and meet other art lovers. That’s what we do.

More Information

Saigon Artbook Edition 3 features the work of Khoa Lê, Kristopher Kotcher and Laurent Judge. If you would like to check out the exhibit in person you can visit the gallery at Lê Công Kiều Station – 3 Lê Công Kiều Street in District 1. The exhibit runs until May 24, 2014.

The Others created a time-lapse video of artists Kristopher Kotcher and Laurent Judge creating a mural on the venue’s roof for the exhibition.